Automatic steam water feed or return trap.



R. RATLIFF, A. G. MYERS & W. H. GRAHAM. AUTOMATIC STEAM WATER FEED 0R RETURN TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 29, I914.

Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

THE COLUMBIA pyu wunAph co., WASHINGTON. n. r..-

REVER-DY RATLIFF, ARTHUR G. MYERS, AND WILLIAM H. GRAHAM, OF GREENCASTLE,

INDIANA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 29, 1914. Serial No. 879,574.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, Rnvnnnr RATLIFF, ARTHUR G. MYERS, and WILLIAM H. GRA- HAM, citizens of the United States, residing at Greencastle, in the county of Putnam and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Steam Water Feed or Return Traps, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in automatic steam water feed or return traps for boilers.

An object of the invention is to provide a water feed or return trap so shaped as to admit of its being placed on brackets, a stand, or any other convenient means of support.

Another object of the invention is to provide a water feed that will automatically return or feed water to a boiler or boilers.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a trap such as above described, which is generally termed a quick throw type of trap, adapted to be controlled by the level of the water therein and by the equalization of steam pressure within the boiler and tank to automatically feed water into the boiler or boilers with which it is connected.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a steam water feed or return trap in which the various parts thereof can be quickly and easily adjusted to meet all of the necessary requirements thereof.

It is still further designed to'provide a device of the above specified type, which will be comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, reliable and eflicient in use, and readily operated, it being understood that various minor changes in the specific details of construction can be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention resides in the novel features of construction, formations, combinations and arrangements of parts to be hereinafter more particularly described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application and in which r a Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention with parts broken away, and Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken through the forward end of the tank and lower cradle with the rack removed therefrom.

v Referring to the accompanying drawings by slmilar characters of reference throughout the several views, A denotes in general our improved trap which consists preferably of a tank 3 which is of any shape and size and which is provided as shown in its forward end with a manhole and closure 4 therefor. lhis tank 3 can be supported in any preferred manner, but as the specific means for supporting the tank has no bearmg on the invention, such support is not shown in the drawing.

WVater is supplied to the tank'3 by the nlet pipe 5 which extends through an opening 1n the upper portion of the rear end of the tank and terminates in a discharge nozzle 6. The pipe 5 is equipped with a check valve 7 the purpose of which will be later explained. A discharge pipe 8 connects the tank 3 with a boiler or boilers (not shown in the drawing). This pipe 8 extends into the tank 3 through an opening provided in the lower portion of the forward end thereof, and is equipped with a check valve 9 similar to the before mentioned check valve 7, the purpose of which will be later 'explained. The tank 3 is placed above the level of the water within theboiler so that when the pressure of steam within the tank and boiler is equalized, and water will flow from the tank into the said boiler by gravity.

A rotatable shaft 10 is 'journaled transversely of the tank 3 for rotation therein and'is supported at one end by an interior bearing 11 and at its opposite' end by a stuffing box 12, which permits the extension 13 of'the shaft 10 to pass through the side of the tank 3, sealing the latter against leakage. A collar 14 is secured to the shaft 10 in any preferred manner and by its contact with the inner end of the stuffing box 12 holds the shaft 10 against any undesired longitudinal movement, yet permits of the necessary rotation thereof.

A forwardly extending arm 15 is secured to the extension 13 of the shaft 10 upon the outside of thetank 3. One manner of securing the'arm 15 to the extension 13 is the collar 16 and set screw 17 which connects the arm 15 rigidly with respect to the shaft 10 causing its rotation therewith. A similar arm 18 which however is of greater Patented in. a, rare.

length than the arm is secured in any manner to the shaft 10 and extends longitudinally within the tank 3. One manner of rigidly connecting the arm 13 to the shaft 10 is shown at 19. The extreme inner end of the arm 18 is forked as at 20 forming a pivotal support for a float 21 which controls the rotation of the shaft 10 and movement of the arm 15 in a manner to be later explained.

A pair of spaced standards 22 and 23 are secured to the tank 3 adjacent the arm 15 and extend vertically therefrom in spaced parallel relation to each other. Upper and lower spaced cradles 24 and 25 are pivoted as shown at 26 between the standards 22 and 23 for longitudinal tilting movement relative to the tank 3. The cradle 25 has a rack 27 secured thereto and positioned longitudinally in spaced relation above the same for engagement with the rollers 28 and 29 carried by the adjustable, depending arms 30 which are supported by the cradle 24. A bar 31 is secured to the underside of the cradle 24 and projects as shown beyond the forward end thereof, terminating in a fork 32 between the opposite sides of which is passed the vertical actuating rod 33. This rod 33 is adjustably connected as shown at 34 to the before mentioned arm 15 while the upper end thereof is slotted as at 35 for the reception of a transverse pin 36 carried by the fork 32. Upper and lower adjustable stops 37 and 38 are carried by the rod 33 for engagement with the fork 32, permitting of a limited movement of the rod 33 without effecting the tilting action of the cradle 24, but insuring the tilting of said cradle 24 when the rod 33 has moved the desired distance. Movable weights in the form of balls 39 and 40 are movable within the cradles 24 and 25, respectively from one end to the other upon the tilting action of said cradles. It will be seen that the ball 39 is slightly larger than the ball 40 and the weight thereof is correspondingly greater.

A bar 42 is secured to the underside of the cradle 25 and has a substantially vertical extension 43 pivoted to the inner end thereof. This extension 43 is adjustably connected as shown at 44 to a swinging lever 45 pivoted at its rear end as shown at 46 toan upstanding bracket 47 adjustably connected as at 48 to a steam inlet pipe 49 designed for the purpose of permitting the steam from the boiler to pass therethrough and through the pipe 50 into the tank 3. The pipe 50 is provided with a T-coupling 51 to which the pipe 49 is connected and which also afi'ords communication with the extension 50 of the said pipe 50. An exhaust pipe 52 is connected to the upper end of the pipe 50 and affords a means for exhausting steam or other pressure from the said tank 3. Valves 53 and 54 control passage through the pipes 52 and 49 respectively and as clearly shown in the drawings are construct ed to operate oppositely, that is, when the valve 53 is closed to prevent the exhaust of steam from the tank 3 the valve 54 is opened to permit a supply of steam to enter the tank 3 from the boiler (not shown) which is in communication with the said pipe 49.

Valve stems 55 and 56 connect the valves 53 and 54 and can be adjusted by means of the turn buckle 57 to control the length of the stroke of the arm 15 necessary to permit steam to pass through the pipe 49 or to exhaust the same through the Dipe 52. In order to prevent any undesired relative movement between the pipes 49 and 52 the inner ends thereof are attached by means of clips 58 to a vertical standard 59 which is attached to the upper side of the tank 3 as shown at 60. A pin 61 extends from the valve stem 56 through a slot 62 provided in the lever 45 in order that, upon the movement of the said lever the valves 53 and 54 will be actuated.

The operation of the device is as follows :When the tank 3 is full of water and the float 21 is elevated the valve 54 is open to admit steam pressure to the tank 3. The exhaust valve 53 is then closed to prevent the escape of pressure from the tank through the exhaust pipe 52. The steam and water pressure in the tank will then maintain the check valve 7 of the feed or inlet pipe closed and will open the check valve 9 in the outlet pipe 8 to permit the water in the tank to flow by gravity into the boiler, the steam pressure thereof being equalized by the steam pressure in the tank 3. lVhen the tank 3 empties and the float falls to the position shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the arm 15 is raised and tilts the upper cradle 24, causing the weight 39 thereof to roll downward and tilt the lower cradle 25, which assumes the position shown in Fig. 1, swinging the lever 45 downward and closing the steam valve 54 and opening the exhaust valve 53. This permits the steam pressure in the tank 3 to exhaust through the pipes 50 and 52, causing the check valve 9 to close automatically under boiler pressure and the check valve 7 toopen under the water pressure of the inlet pipe 5. Water is then permitted to flow into the tank and when the float 21 is raised sufliciently it tilts the upper cradle 24 in the opposite direction to that shown in Fig. 1 and reverses the lower cradle 25, which swings the lever 45 upward, opening the steam valve 54 and closing the exhaust valve 53, thereby admitting steam pressure to the tank 3, which causes the check valve 7 of the inlet pipe to close. The check valve 9 of the outlet pipe 8 will then open and permit the water of the tank 3 to feed to the boiler.

From the foregoing disclosures it will be manifest that a steam water feed or return trap is provided, which will fulfil all of the necessary requirements of such a device.

l/Vhat we claim as new and desire to secur by Letters Patent is 1. An automatic steam water feed or return trap including a tank, separate inlet and discharge pipes connected with the tank and provided with check valves automatically closable respectively by tank pressure and boiler pressure, steam and exhaust pipes connected with the tank and provided with valves, a float within the tank operated solely by the rise and fall of the water, upper and lower pivotally mounted cradles provided with shiftable weights, means for connecting one of the cradles with the valves of the steam and exhaust pipes to cause a simultaneous movement of the such valves and said cradle, andmeans for connecting the float with the other cradle, the latter being arranged to actuate the first mentioned cradle and having a limited movement independent of same.

2. An automatic steam water feed or return trap including a tank, separate inlet and discharge pipes connected with the tank and provided with check valves automatically closable respectively by tank pressure and boiler pressure, steam and exhaust pipes connected with the tank and Provided with valves, a float within the tank operated solely by the rise and fall of the water, upper and lower pivotally mounted cradles provided with shiftable weights, the upper cradle having a heavier weight than that of the lower cradle and arranged to actuate the same, means for connecting the lower cradle with the valves of the steam and exhaust pipes for causing such valves to move simultaneously with the lower cradle, and means for connecting the float with the upper cradle and for permitting the upper cradle to move independently of the lower cradle.

3. An automatic steam water feed or return trap including a tank, separate inlet and discharge pipes connected with the tank and provided with check valves automatically closable respectively by tank pressure and boiler pressure, steam and exhaust pipes connected with the tank and provided with valves, a float within the tank operated solely by the rise and fall of the water, upper and lower pivotally mounted cradles provided with shiftable weights, the upper cradle having a heavier weight than that of the lower cradle, a rack extending longitudinally of the lower cradle, pendant projecting means carried by the upper cradle at the ends thereof and arranged to engage the said rack to actuate the lower cradle, means for connecting the lower cradle with the valves of the steam and exhaust pipes, and means for connecting the upper cradle with the float and for permitting independent movement of the upper cradle 4. An automatic steam water feed or return trap including a tank, separate inlet and discharge pipes connected with the tank and provided with check valves automatically closable respectively by tank pressureand boiler pressure, steam and exhaust pipes connected with the tank and provided with valves, a float within the tank operated solely by the rise and fall of the water, upper and lower pivotally mounted cradles provided with shiftable weights, the upper cradle having a heavier weight than that of the lower cradle and arranged to actuate the same, a stem connecting the valves of the steam and exhaust pipes, a lever fulcrumed at one end and connected at an intermediate point to the stem, a rod connecting the lower cradle with the other end of the lever, and means for connecting the float with the upper cradle.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

REVERDY RATLIFF. ARTHUR G. MYERS. WILLIAM H. GRAHAM. Witnesses:

ELAM M. DRURY, WILLIAM A. STUoKEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

